From Arrest to Release, Helping Families Feel Less Alone: An Evaluation of a Worcestershire Pilot Support Project for Families Affected by Parental Imprisonment

YSS (a charity in Worcestershire supporting marginalised individuals) commissioned Dr Victoria Cooper, Professor Jane Payler and Dr Stephanie Jane Bennett of the Children’s Research Centre at The Open University to undertake a two-year evaluation of the newly funded Families First project, 2020 - 2022. The aims were to: investigate the extent and nature of familial imprisonment nationally; examine how the YSS Families First (YSS FF) project was set up and implemented in Worcestershire specifically to meet the needs of families referred when a family member is in prison; explore the nature and impact of the YSS FF project through analysis of children, young people, family and practitioner experiences; raise public, media and stakeholder awareness of the scale of need nationally for supporting families with a parent in prison, and to lobby for policy change and funding to extend services.